The COVID-19 Pandemic that started in 2019 has taken 40,739 lives in India. Though the number of cases are reducing in Delhi, the situation is still not under control and I feel that the schools shouldn't be opened before a vaccine arrives in India.

The problem associated with opening schools is that due to the population of the country, sufficient amount of social distancing can't be maintained in classrooms. Opening schools would tremendously increase the chances of the students, teachers and other workers in the school to get infected. Those infected by the virus can also infect others in their families. The elderly and babies in families are especially vulnerable. If the cases start increasing again, the virus is going to explode in Delhi as well as other states exponentially which would then delay the reopening of schools further and would result in more deaths and hospitalisations. Delhi on Thursday reported over 1,000 coronavirus cases in a single day and a total of 1,39,000 cases by now. There have been more than 4000 deaths in Delhi. By Delhi government's own assessment, in the near future, to treat coronavirus patients, as many as 80,000 hospital beds will be required whereas only 9,000 hospital beds are available at present. More beds would be required in hospitals if the schools are opened and the situation would get out of control. People are standing in queues outside hospitals in Delhi, in the same way, people are queueing up outside crematorium ghats. If schools are opened, the situation will become very frightening. If necessary steps are not taken in time, the condition of Delhi can be similar to that of New York, Spain and Italy, where there was no space left to keep the dead bodies in hospitals. Not only this, the doctors of these countries had to decide whose lives were to be saved and whose not. The situation in India is not under control and some tough decisions need to be taken by the government. One of these decisions should be postponing opening schools till a vaccine arrives.

If Schools aren't opened, the situation would come under control within a few months and the number of cases and deaths would gradually reduce.